Finnish army axes internet addicts
5 August 2004
The Finnish army has reportedly thrown out a number of conscripts because of their addiction to the internet.
The Finnish Defence Forces claim that doctors have found some young men miss their computers too much to cope with the compulsory six months of military conscription.
The army says some recruits have been diagnosed as addicts and sent home, but added that they would be called up again three years later.
"For people who play [internet] games all night and don't have any friends, don't have any hobbies, to come into the army is a very big shock," recruitment officer Commander-Captain Jyrki Kivela told the BBC.
Cmdr-Capt Kivela stressed that internet addiction was not a big problem for the Finnish army, and insisted he was "proud of our Finnish men".
Finland called up 26,500 men in 2003, nine per cent of whom were relieved of duty for medical reasons. The country's armed forces have not released figures for conscripts sent home because of internet addiction.
More than 44 per cent of Finns reportedly use the internet every day.
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